Hyderabad, September 14: The figures are grim and dreadful but startlingly true. Even by a modestly rationale estimate, at least one child runs away from his or her home every thirty seconds in the country! The reasons vary but the trauma remains nightmarish for the parents who have no clue as regards the possible place the missing child could be traced from.
According to figures provided by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), from among the 45, 000 children who go missing each year, nearly 1,100 remain untraced. NGO who are working the field attribute this to the averseness of the parents to register complaints with the local police.
A senior worker with a noted NGO in Hyderabad points out even more gruesome was the fact that almost 30,000 girls into the sex industry each year.
Andhra Pradesh is among five States having the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of trafficking of children because it is a lucrative business.
An NHRC study has revealed that the vulnerable sections were low-income families while the modus operandi ranged from drugging, abduction and persuasion to deception.
To make matters worse, serious investigations and bids to trace the missing women and children are few and far in between. This essentially stems from the involvement of `respectable’ people in trafficking. In a welcome change, the authorities made a breakthrough of sorts a couple of years back when big names, under the guise of `socialites’ were caught red-handed even as they were sending the victims abroad.
The Centre for Action Research and People’s Development (CARPED), a city-based NGO working for child rights has designed and implemented pilot projects.
The programme is spearheaded by M S Chandra, who is assisted by fellow-social activists M Subhash Chandra, Shyam Sundar Reddy, Kiran Valipa Venkat and Chinmayi. They identify, trace and expose the high magnitude of unnecessary hysterectomies.
The CARPED team has attempted to put an end to the menace of child marriages among Gangireddula community; developed community specific IEC material on HIV/AIDS in a tribal language (the first educational film on HIV/AIDS in a tribal language).
Chandra says that they are striving to help missing kids reach their homes, howsoever miniscule the figure could be. Their project aims to create a model for NGOs/volunteers in tracing the missing kids and their parents and sensitize the stakeholders on the grim reality.
Subhash, says that it was their relentless pursuit that has helped in tracing and restoring over one hundred children to their biological parents. It is no mean achievement considering that these figures were achieved in only eleven months, as of this month.
`We traced children in Delhi, Sholapur, Bangalore, Gulbarga, Orissa, Chittoor, Mumbai, Nalgonda. Most of them were natives of Nizamabad, Basheerabad (Mahabubnagar) Virava (Khammam), Erpedu, Madanapalle, Shamirpet, Medak and some were from far-off Nepal.’
In a major bid, a group of CARPED representatives raided Prabhat Circus in Chittoor and rescued 27 children, including nine from Nepal.
Decrying the harrowing times these children were facing, Shyam Sundar Reddy said that `the situation was deplorable and grossly inhuman, to say the least. Minors were forced to work for long hours and allowed to sleep for only four hours. What they got eat was unhygienic and less than required. Some of the boys were a mere seven years old.’
A parent in Basheerabad, whose kid was traced by a CARPED team, was relieved that `my child is alive in New Delhi. I was getting worried when news spread of a child sacrifice in the nearby village just a week ago”.
A parent in Nizamabad, who works with the Police Department, lost his kid five years back and is yet to be traced. He has shifted to a new place of posting even as his wife resides in the same old house waiting for the son to return home.
`We feel we have been able to do our bit to reduce the plight of some parents. Our efforts are catching up. Recently, a volunteer from the United States Ms. .Aleesha Miller worked on the cause to create more awareness,’ says Subhash while admitting that “we have miles to go.’
——Agencies